Promotion of culture, literature among govt’s priorities, says Minister

Minister for Culture Saji Cherian has said that the concept of ‘Creative Economies’ being proposed by the State government as part of Vision 2031 will help develop a better social structure, and that it will create several new entrepreneurs and job potential in diverse sectors.

Inaugurating the City of Literature Day celebrations in Kozhikode on Tuesday, the Minister said that promotion of culture and literature were among the priorities of the government. The Department of Culture has undertaken a variety of activities to encourage reading habit, to provide better opportunities to writers and artists, and to improve the functioning of cultural establishments.

The Minister also distributed the ‘City of Literature’ awards in various categories on the occasion. Sarah Joseph bagged the award for comprehensive contribution to literature, while Santhosh Echikkanam (children’s literature), R. Rajasree (female writer), E. Adarsh (Aadi) (young writer), J. Gopalakrishnan and A.J. Thomas (Translation) were the other award winners.

Mayor Beena Philip presided over the event.

Kozhikode became part of the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in October 2023 as it became India’s first ‘City of Literature’. The city’s literary history that dates back to the 14th century and the number of writers, scholars, and publishing houses that have made Kozhikode their home were taken into consideration. Besides, its literary infrastructure, including libraries, its commitment to promoting literature and the city being a permanent venue for the Kerala Literature Festival was also factored in.

The Kozhikode Corporation had taken an active interest in obtaining the recognition and was guided by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration and the National Institute of Technology-Calicut.

Over the two years since it received the recognition, Kozhikode has witnessed an array of cultural events keeping up the relevance of the tag. There are also plans to develop a literary circuit to promote cultural tourism in the region by linking major literary landmarks.